Volleyball Falls in Five at Iona

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y.
– The Canisius College volleyball team saw its rally fall short as the Golden
Griffins lost to Iona 25-23, 23-25, 25-20, 23-25, 15-10 in the Hynes Athletic
Center Saturday. Canisius falls to 16-9 overall and 11-5 in the Metro Atlantic
Athletic Conference.

Sophomore
Renee Lettow led the Golden Griffins
with 18 kills while senior Morgan Ammons
had 12 kills. Senior Sarah Podlesh
led the Griffs with 25 digs while freshman Janelle
Davis had 37 assists. Junior Michelle
Godfrey posted a career-high 11 blocks and matched a program record with her
nine block assists.

“This
is the time of year that defines teams, especially those looking to get into
the postseason. That gets built through winning on the road,” Canisius coach Cathy Hummel said. “We need to turn it
around quickly, starting with our match against Manhattan on Sunday.”

In
the first set, the Golden Griffins built a 16-10 lead on the strength of an
11-3 run. The Gaels would make their way back into the match with an 8-2 run to
knot it at 18-18. No team would take more than a one-point lead until the end
of the set when the Gaels won the last two points.

The teams reversed roles in the second set,
with Iona jumping out to the early advantage, holding leads of 8-4 and 16-13.
Canisius would win nine consecutive points on the serve of freshman Carley Youngman, which included two
kills from Ammons, to build a 22-16 lead. The Griffs built a 24-20 lead and
held on for the two-point win, on a kill from Ammons.

For
the second straight set, Iona built an early lead, going up 6-1, before
Canisius battled back to tie it at 8-8 on a kill by Ammons. Iona went ahead
again with a six-point run, to go up 16-11 on a kill by Colleen Genett.
Canisius would only get as close as three points the rest of the way as the
Gaels built a 2-1 lead in the match.

The
Griffs rallied to win the fourth to force a fifth and deciding set. Iona held a
22-19 lead before Canisius won six of the final seven points, including the
last four, to win the set. After an Iona attack error started the run, Canisius
got a kill from Ammons and a service ace from Davis before Ammons won it with
her fifth kill of the set.

Iona
would use an 8-2 run to build 14-6 lead in the fifth. During the run, Rachelle
Wilson had three kills for the Gaels. Canisius would win four straight points
to make it 14-10 before the Gaels closed out the match.

Wilson
led Iona (16-11, 8-7) with 19 kills while Sarah Wiener and Rachel Whitten each
had 15 kills. Alyssa Erickson had a match-high 59 assists while Allison Nieters
led all players with 34 digs.

Canisius
plays its final road game of the regular season on Sunday, when the Golden
Griffins take on Manhattan. Match time is set for 11 a.m.

Match Notes:
Junior Kaela Glenn had a career-high
14 digs... Iona has won nine of 10 between the teams in New Rochelle... Canisius
fell to 6-3 this season in five-set matches... Lettow had seven kills on eight
attempts in the first set... Ammons recorded five kills and zero errors on nine
attempts in the fourth... The 18 kills by Lettow matched a career high, which the
sophomore set Oct. 22, in a 3-2 win at Niagara... Davis set a career high with
seven blocks... The 14 team blocks by the Griffs were a season high and the most
since the Griffs had 16 against Saint Peter’s Sept. 30, 2007.